ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. game — wild animals
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. pop — music
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. drill — army training
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pop — soda
  13. drill — a practice
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. drill — the tool
  16. bore — to drill
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pop — to visit
  21. game — a match
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. fork — in a road

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com